Ph.D. research with high-elevation, high-latitude flowering plants

The primarily alpine-arctic herbaceous plant genus Micranthes (Saxifragaceae) is found in the mountains of Asia, Europe, and North America. Micranthes is a model group for investigating broad patterns of plant migration and diversification in mountainous and Arctic areas worldwide and is an excellent candidate for answering large-scale biogeographic questions.

To assess the systematics, taxonomy, and historical biogeography of this group, this research project is multidimensional. It will include extensive fieldwork worldwide and international collaborations to obtain plant material; high-throughput sequencing targeting hundreds of nuclear and chloroplast genes; phylogenetic and dating analyses; and distribution and character trait reconstructions.

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the biology department at University of Florida and Florida Museum of Natural History advised by Nico Cellinese and co-advised by Doug Soltis. I love all things botany - from keying plants in the field to teaching Plant Taxonomy to DNA extractions from leaf tissue. I have an affinity for the harsh climates of high elevations and high latitudes and their associated floras. Subsequently, my research has taken me to some amazing places.